File access protocols, such as Server Message Block (SMB) or versions thereof, e.g., SMB2, may operate as application-layer network protocols mainly used to provide shared access to files and miscellaneous communications between nodes on a network. Historically, SMB or SMB2 operated atop transmission control protocol (TCP) transports and traditional network infrastructure. While SMB2 has been very successful as a protocol for general purpose remote file access, SMB2 has not been widely adopted for remote file access where high throughput and low latency file input/output is required.
Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) is a direct memory access from the memory of one computer into that of another computer without involving the operating system of the other computer. This direct transfer permits high-throughput, low-latency data transfers over a network, which is especially useful in performance-critical deployments. When an application performs an RDMA Read or Write request, the application data are delivered directly from a source memory buffer to a destination memory buffer using RDMA-capable network adapters, which do not involve the central processing unit (CPU) (also referred to simply as a processor) or operating system in the transfer. These RDMA transfers reduce latency and enable fast message transfer. Unfortunately, the benefits of RDMA have not been exploited by systems using SMB2 because SMB2 has not operated with RDMA.
Although specific problems have been addressed in this Background, this disclosure is not intended in any way to be limited to solving those specific problems.